Seven Years With James
by Lkay09
Summary: Companion to Seven Years With Lily but from Lily's perspective. Enjoy!
1. Year One

**A/N:** So this is the companion piece to _Seven Years With Lily_ and it's all from Lily's perspective. It will take me a few days between each update to make sure stuff matches, but I hope y'all enjoy. If you have read _Seven Years With Lily_ and find any discrepancies, please tell me and I will try to fix them.

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Lily was so excited. Sev showed her how to get onto the platform and she stood there gawking at the red train that would take them to Hogwarts, her parents and her sister next to her, all four of them with their mouths hanging open.

Saying good-bye was sad – at least with her parents. Petunia seemed to be glad to be seeing the back of her, and that really hurt.

She was joined in her compartment by two loud boys and a slightly quieter one who just sat there and read. One boy had messy black hair, hazel eyes, and glasses. Another had slightly longer black hair and blue eyes so dark they were almost black. The quiet one had sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes. They ignored her and, after studying them for a few moments, she ignored them.

Sev found her after about an hour. The boy with the messy black hair quickly insulted him and she left. _A shame,_ she thought on her way out. _He's kind of cute._

The Sorting was so nerve-wracking, Lily thought she was going to throw up. She was petrified that she would be put in Gryffindor – where she had heard the messy hair boy talking about wanting to go – or that she wouldn't be Sorted at all.

The hat screamed Gryffindor – she looked at Severus apologetically before heading to that table. The boy with the long black hair – she vaguely remembered his name being Sirius something-or-other – scooted over and gestured for her to sit next to him. She could also see Messy Hair watching her from his place in the line. Instead, she sat with a group of girls who had already been Sorted.

Their names were Alice, Sarah, Addison, and Lynn, and they were all really nice to Lily, even though she was Muggleborn.

Sev was put into Slytherin – no surprise there, but she hoped they would have a lot of the same classes and that he would help her explore the castle like he promised.

The quiet boy from the train was named Remus Lupin and he was also put into Gryffindor. So was Messy Hair – James Potter was his name – and she scowled. Seven years with that rude boy. Oh, the joy.

Classes weren't that hard really. She was really good at Charms and decent at everything except Transfiguration. Professor Slughorn, the Potions master, took an instant liking to her, as did Professor Flitwick.

She and Sev still spent a lot of time together – they were best friends after all. She knew that their friendship surprised a lot of people – a Slytherin and a Gryffindor? But neither of them cared really.

The first few weeks passed by quickly and fairly peacefully – then Potter ruined it.

He and his little gang of friends had dubbed themselves 'the Marauders' (_what an idiotic name for a group,_ she scoffed) and had taken it upon themselves to prank nearly everybody in the school – they especially seemed to have it out for her and Sev it seemed. Lily was shocked to find that Remus was a part of their little group – he had seemed to be far more sensible than that. Peter Pettigrew, a hopeless excuse for a wizard, was also a Marauder, although many people were stumped as to why. Black and Potter were clearly the ringleaders though.

Potter thought it was hilarious to bewitch her quill to bounce off her paper so she couldn't write a word. Black thought it was hilarious to charm a book into sticking itself to the back of Severus's head for an entire day. While Lily admired the magic they were doing – it was pretty advanced – she wished they would leave her alone.

And then there were the times that she could feel Potter staring at her in class or at lunch and, to be honest, it was a bit creepy. But if she was honest with herself, she knew that she and Sev could be handling it a little better – Lily could admit there were times when she was rude to Potter for no reason (at least, no reason at the moment) and Sev should leave the other Marauders alone; she knew he picked on Peter to provoke Potter.

Lily was alone at Christmas – Sev went back home, as did the other girls. Potter and Black stayed, but she ignored them whenever possible. It wasn't the best way to spend Christmas – she missed her parents and her sister terribly, although Petunia didn't seem to miss her. She had stopped writing a few weeks ago, and although her parents told her it was because she had made some friends and was really busy, Lily knew better.

Thankfully break was over fairly quickly, and then the rest of first year raced by. Lily threw herself into studying and as a result she was top of their year. The downside to this was that it gave Potter something else to pick on her about – he constantly called her a goody two-shoes, a nerd, and a whole host of other names along the same line. _And_ on Valentine's Day he had the nerve to send her a heart – he didn't sign it, but he didn't have to. It was slightly confusing for her though – she knew Potter didn't like her like that because otherwise he would be a little nicer to her. She threw it into the fire before it could explode in her face or something – she was fairly sure he had jinxed it somehow.

Exams were upon them before she could blink, but she aced them all. Then, to her great disappointment, it was the end of June and they were all boarding the Hogwarts Express again. Lily wasn't looking forward to seeing Petunia again – things were still really strained between them, although Lily was desperately hoping that things would improve over the holiday.

Potter and his gang of Marauders didn't bother her or Sev on the train ride home thankfully. Nor did he approach her when they disembarked. She could feel him watching her with her family though – Sev even whispered in her ear as they hugged "That loser is staring at you again" before pulling away.

Lily sighed as she climbed into her parents' car. This was not going to be a fun summer. And while she loved Hogwarts, she was dreading having to suffer through the next six years with James Potter. How was she expected to survive?

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Review!! I know you want to!!


	2. Year Two

By September first, Lily was relieved to get out of the house and back to Hogwarts. Petunia was becoming more and more distant, barely looking at her, barely speaking to her, and it was starting to hurt and get a little annoying.

Sev was understanding when she told him. If she didn't know any better, Lily would think he was almost pleased – he and Tuney had never really gotten on well. But she pushed the thought out of her head as the train approached Hogwarts.

The horseless carriages were highly interesting. Sev explained they were actually pulled by something called thestrals so they weren't really horseless. Lily didn't care - it was all still fascinating to her.

Potter still seemed to be making it his business to annoy her and make her year even more miserable than the previous one – he was doing a fair job, she had to admit: bumping into her on the train, now staring at her all through dinner – after he and his _Marauders_ had invited her to sit with them. She really didn't have a problem with Remus, just the others.

Classes were far more difficult and fun this semester. She was really getting excited and looking forward to the next few years.

Lily wasn't sure exactly what it was that possessed her to go to Quidditch tryouts. She hadn't really developed an interest in Quidditch, unlike practically everyone else in the school. She figured it was her way of showing House spirit since she spent so much time with Sev. Alice and the other girls came too, each of them gawking over the boys trying out – including James Potter.

Watching him fly, she had to admit he was fairly good. But she would never tell him that because it would inflate his already overlarge ego. After he made the team, she _was_ nice enough to tell him "Congratulations" – she can be the bigger person when she wants. She regretted it later when he stared at her even more, and Alice informed her that the other Marauders had been picking on him mercilessly for having a crush on her. _Great,_ she thought, _just what I need - for Potter to have another reason to annoy me._

Thankfully, Potter making the team meant he had less time to bother her. He stopped altogether for about a week when he went out with Amy Jones. Lily could never understand what girls saw in James Potter – although pointing this out to her friends was probably one of the dumbest things for her to do. Sarah and Addie just burst into giggles, while Lynn named off all the wonderful things about Potter, from his hair to his eyes to his sense of humor. Alice just gave Lily a searching look before laughing and telling the other girls that Lily was going to end up married to him.

She didn't speak to Alice for three days after that, although all the other girls found it hilarious (predictably).

The prank he pulled on Severus – turning all his robes hot pink – was taking it a little too far, in her opinion. She knew that James and Sirius hated him, and that Sev despised them, but they constantly seemed to be singling him out for one of their ridiculous pranks. Lily _did_ feel better after slapping James Potter across the face – how many people got to say they did that? – but she wished she had just cursed him silly when he asked her why she was friends with Severus.

"That," she replied, "is absolutely _none_ of your business."

"But you're so much better than him Evans!"

"That is a matter of _your_ opinion, Potter, and the way I see it, I could either be friends with him or I could be friends with an insufferable arrogant _idiot_ like you! I wonder what my choice will be?"

She stormed off, leaving Potter standing there in the Entrance Hall. Lily couldn't help but fume over what he had said for the next few days – how _dare_ he criticize Sev, when he was the one who was always pulling pranks and hurting people? Sev was a much, _much_ better person.

Lily stayed in and studied in the library with Severus while her friends all went to the Quidditch game. They came back full of praise about James Potter and his quickness and skill at acquiring the Snitch. Lily and Severus exchanged exasperated looks at this – the last thing either of them needed was for James Potter to think he was greater than he already thought he was.

She was happy that she managed to knock him down a peg or two shortly before Christmas break – he had been about to play yet _another_ prank on Sev when she caught them. She hit Black from behind with the Furnunculus jinx, and before Potter could even raise his wand she had hit him with the _Langlock_ jinx, one Severus had showed her, and left them in the hall to be found by someone else. She had enough knowledge of their pranks – and the teachers trusted her word about things like that – to know that they wouldn't be stupid enough to pin it on her.

Severus stayed over Christmas this year, thankfully. She suspected he didn't want to deal with his parents fighting, and didn't trust Potter to leave her alone when he wasn't around. Noble though that may have been of him, she hardly needed his protection. Potter learned well enough on his own _not_ to try to get her under the mistletoe, though she didn't tell Sev – Lily knew that would make him mad and give him another reason to go after Potter.

After that, Potter left her alone for a few months. January, February, and March were all relatively peaceful for her. She still managed to be friends with Remus, but since Potter left her alone, Black and Pettigrew did as well. They didn't fully leave Sev alone, but they backed off a little.

Between her own hard work and Sev's help in Potions, her grades were higher than they had ever been. Transfiguration remained the only class she struggled in, despite the fact that she studied more for that class than for any other. Her Charms work was so impressive to Professor Flitwick that he suggested that she consider tutoring younger students next year. While it was a good idea, Lily had never really been good with teaching people, and she didn't consider it all that long before discarding the idea.

Even after Potter went back to nagging her incessantly and pranking her and Severus, she kept her grades up and ignored him.

Finally the year was over and she and Severus were sitting on the Hogwarts Express, talking animatedly about what they wanted to do in Hogsmeade next year. He wanted to see the Shrieking Shack, while she was interested in Honeydukes. They vowed to go to every store there so they could have the full experience.

Their pleasant conversation was ruined when some of Sev's other friends from Slytherin showed up – Mulciber, Avery, and Malfoy. After a few minutes, she left, uncomfortable with the way Avery was leering at her.

Lily found the girls in another compartment and joined in their conversation about summer holidays and Hogsmeade as well.

"You know Lily," Addie said slyly, "I wouldn't be surprised if James Potter asks you to Hogsmeade with him next year." Lily pretended to vomit.

"Aww, come on! What's wrong with James Potter?"

"Well, for starters he's rude, he's always picking on me and Sev-" the other girls exchanged looks at this; Lily knew none of them were very fond of Severus "-and he has such a big head!"

"Be that as it may," Lynn cut in before Lily could really get rolling about why she hated Potter, "the boy clearly fancies you. And _I_ wouldn't say no to a day in Hogsmeade with him."

"You might not," Lily shot back, "but I certainly will. I can promise you right now that I will never, _ever_, go out with James bloody Potter."

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**A/N:** So, I'm going to apologize for the bumpiness of the writing in this chapter. I was having issues thinking about what Lily would be doing this year, and I didn't want to focus to be totally on James since she still dislikes him and would be trying to ignore him, not think about him all the time like James was about her. But after this my writing should get a little smoother.

And as always - review!! I got no reviews for the first chapter, and it was very disappointing - reviews are what make me want to write and update!! So PLEASE **PLEASE** review! Gracias!!


	3. Year Three

_Great_, Lily thought. _Just great!_

Addie had been right. Potter was asking her to Hogsmeade. And judging by the confident way he was looking at her, he was expecting her to agree to go. As if.

Asking her how her summer had been – she would have thought he was being nice for once had the look on his face not been one of pure arrogance. And he wondered why she hated him sometimes.

"Think about it," he said after she turned him down. And then he had fallen on his ass. Severus had fallen off his seat, he was laughing so hard. Thankfully he was able to get up and close the door to their compartment before Potter could try to come back in.

He tried to ask her again at dinner, but she ignored him, and the knowing looks that Alice and Addie were exchanging. As soon as he had gone back to sit with the Marauders, they both leaned in.

"Lily! Why won't you go with him?" Addie asked incredulously.

"Because I hate him," she replied simply, digging into her potatoes.

"I said it last year," Alice sighed, "and I'll say it again – you are going to end up married to James Potter one day."

Lily chose not to dignify this with a response.

After the first month of school had passed, Lily couldn't help wishing it was fourth year already so that she could chose some of her other classes; maybe then she wouldn't have to deal with Potter asking her out all day, every day. And he was beginning to do it in increasingly public ways, nearly all of them humiliating to her. She always turned him down, and he always gave her an infuriating smirk that clearly said "I'll get you one day".

She went to the first Hogsmeade trip with the girls because Sev had a detention for being caught out in the halls past curfew. They went to Scrivenshaft's and Zonko's (although Lily dragged them out after five minutes – Potter was in there too, she knew it), but spent most of the time in Honeyduke's. Lily had her first taste of butterbeer when they stopped at the Three Broomsticks, and she had to admit, it was quite good – better than most of the soda pops her parents and Tuney were always drinking. There was also a nice little boutique, called Sparks, past Dervish and Banges that they spent a few hours in. They had a fairly good selection of formal gowns – "I hope they have some kind of Ball while we're here, these are all so pretty!" exclaimed Lynn – as well as robes and Muggle clothing.

Potter was nothing if not persistent – she would give him that much. He asked her out at every opportunity, whether they were alone or not.

She was relieved to find out that for the second Hogsmeade trip of the year, he was taking some Ravenclaw – _poor girl_, she thought sympathetically – and so would hopefully be leaving her alone. But of course, life is not that kind.

Lily saw his scowl when she and Sev came out of Honeyduke's laughing, and attributed it to his dislike of Sev. But it had been hilarious – a Hufflepuff two years above them had tried a Cockroach Cluster on a dare.

Unfortunately Sev had to go home for Christmas. Alice had invited all the girls to her house for the holidays, and they were all really looking forward to it…until her parents decided that a family vacation to Italy was in order. Disappointed, all the other girls went home while Lily stayed at Hogwarts. All the Marauders stayed as well, along with a surprising number of students, but Lily hardly noticed. She shot them death glares when they pulled pranks, but other than that she ignored their presence, like always.

The rest of the year passed fairly peacefully – other than Potter's harassment, of course. She threw herself into her studies and kept her spot at top of the class, with Remus right behind her, predictably.

Everyone worked themselves into a frenzy over the upcoming Quidditch final – Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. She was rooting for Gryffindor, of course, and for once she would be going to the game, but she failed to understand all the hostility between the houses. Potter and Black were two of the main aggravators of the whole thing – they were constantly picking on a Slytherin, any Slytherin. Their target of choice was Severus Snape, whenever they could find him alone, which wasn't very often. She and Sev were still managing to maintain their friendship, despite all that.

Unfortunately, their time together was becoming limited to classes. Outside, his friends Mulciber, Avery, Malfoy, and now Macnair, hardly ever left him alone. Lily hated to be around them – she knew their opinions of her – and always made an excuse to leave when they inevitably showed up.

Lily was shocked to see Potter, Black, and Pettigrew actually studying for their exams this year. She suspected Remus may have forced them into it. Not that Potter _or_ Black really needed to study. Both of them were smart, she knew that, and naturally talented wizards, whereas she had to study at least two hours a day – outside of doing homework – in order to be as good as she was. It was yet another thing that contributed to Potter's ego, and another thing that irked her about him. And then to top it off, they got the two highest grades behind her and Remus.

Truth be told, if Potter wasn't so arrogant and such a bullying git, she probably _would_ actually go out with him – not that she could ever admit that to any of her friends. And it wasn't necessarily that Lily actually had feeling for him – call it morbid curiosity. She could tell he was fun and that they would probably have a good time on a date. Plus he was attractive. But she just couldn't get past the fact that he treated some people like they were below him, and he acted like he was God's gift to women. It didn't help that most of the girls in the school were practically clawing each other's eyes out to get a chance with him.

Lily sighed despondently as the train pulled into Platform 9 ¾ - she really didn't want to be home already. Yes, she had missed her parents and Tuney, but she knew her sister hadn't missed her at all. And she wasn't looking forward to a repeat of last summer.

"Lily!" She turned at the sound of Alice's voice. "Guess what?" she asked breathlessly.

"What?"

"My parents said that you and Lynn and Sarah and Addie can come stay for a week or two this summer at our house in Wales! Won't that be great?"

Lily's heart leapt in her chest. Maybe there was hope for this summer after all.

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**A/N:** So there's year three. Just a few things really quickly:

I know that in the HP books they chose their classes at the end of second year, but I forgot that tiny detail when I was writing _Seven Years With Lily_ and so in my story they select at the end of third year. Also, the paragraph about how Lily would be willing to go out with James if he was different - that really isn't because she has feelings for him (in my story at least)...it's more about the fact that she's curious about why all these other girls are dying to go out with him. In my HP-Land, she really does hate him...at least for now.

And for those of y'all that are reading _Returning_, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it, I'm just suffering a minor case of writer's block when it comes to that story. I will update as soon as I can.

And, as always, please review! Not getting any reviews makes me sad, and when I'm sad I don't write! I would hate to disappoint the people that have put this story on their alerts! Thank you!!! :)


	4. Year Four

**4/19/10: So, funny story. I was re-reading this, and I realized in the description of Lily and how she looks before the Christmas Ball said "and a hint of lip gloss on her cheeks." Obviously I need to work on my proofreading. But, it's been fixed. :)  
Anyways, enjoy!**

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Thirty minutes! _Thirty freaking minutes_! Lily sighed – this year was already off to a bad start. Thirty minutes into the train ride back and Potter had already asked her out. He was still as arrogant and cocky and rude as ever.

And predictably, the second he left, her friends had pounced on her with the usual "Ohmigosh he's still so gorgeous!" and "Lily, he's insanely in love with you!" and "Why the bloody hell won't you give him a chance?!"

She had ignored them for the rest of the train ride after that.

But Lily was too happy to be back at Hogwarts for her annoyance with her friends to last long, and so by the time they sat down to the feast, they were all talking and laughing like usual, swapping stories of their summer holidays. They had all gone to Addie's house for the first two and a half weeks, and then Lily had been stuck at her house with her cranky sister – none of whom her friends liked – and her parents, who were still trying to get Petunia and Lily to be friends again. Alice was also nice enough to point out that Potter was staring at her, as well as quite a few other guys from other houses.

Her joy at being back at Hogwarts was diminished slightly when she learned that Potter, Black, and Pettigrew all had the same classes as her – the _exact_ same schedule to be precise. She didn't really mind having the same schedule as Remus, seeing as how he was a really good student and helped her out sometimes, but the others…

Lily heaved a frustrated sigh and slumped over, resting her forehead on the table she was occupying in the common room. It was going to be a _looooong_ year.

She managed to ignore Potter for awhile – unfortunately she couldn't avoid him. It was like he had a 6th sense as to where she was at all times. It was really quite annoying, how he kept popping up where she was. Luckily Lynn showed her the Room of Requirement, and Potter never found her there. It usually morphed into a small study for her, where she could go and just read, or sometimes draw. She used to be quite the artist, but she hadn't really drawn anything in quite some time and as result her technique wasn't what it used to be.

And whose idiotic idea was it to have a Christmas Ball? The entire school already knew that Potter had practically marked her as his territory, so nobody was going to ask her _except_ Potter himself. And he would probably ask all day, every day, and keep on asking _during_ the ball.

"I'm not going," she announced to her friends Halloween night, heaving a sigh. It was a shame – she really _had_ wanted to go, but Potter made that impossible.

Her friends all turned to stare at her.

"_WHAT?!"_ they exclaimed simultaneously, causing Lily to wince and cover her ears.

"Lily…how can you _not_ want to go?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"It's not that I don't want to go," she snapped. "I can't."

"And why the bloody hell not?" Alice asked indignantly.

"Potter" came the curt reply.

All four each uttered a soft "oh" of comprehension. Even Alice, although she was smirking as she did. Lily nodded sadly.

"Well, _I _think that is ridiculous!" Addie said with an air of determination. "You _are_ going to the ball, Miss Evans, even if we have to drag you there by your hair!" The other three nodded.

"But you guys already have dates – which, by the way is _insane_ seeing as how we only found out about the ball a few hours ago – and I can't go by myself! Although," she added, "I suppose I could go with Sev, as a friend of course." Lily became a little sad thinking about Sev. They had barely seen each other this year outside of classes, thanks to his ever-present little gang of…not exactly friends, but definitely more than acquaintances. They always worked together in class though, and then it almost seemed like nothing had changed.

She was pulled from her thoughts by four loud and resounding "NO!"s.

"LILY EVANS! YOU WILL NOT, _WILL NOT_, ASK SEVERUS SNAPE TO THE CHRISTMAS BALL, EVEN IF IT IS JUST AS FRIENDS!" Lynn yelled. Lily cast a quick Silencing Charm over the door so nobody – meaning Potter – could attempt to eavesdrop. Well, they wouldn't really need to _attempt_ with the way Lynn was yelling.

"Plus," Alice added quickly, "I know someone that _does_ want to go to the ball with you, and it isn't Potter!"

"Ooh, who?" Lily squealed. She crossed her fingers, hoping for someone good, someone that would make Potter leave her alone.

"Well, Frank" – Alice's recently acquired boyfriend that she never shut up about – "mentioned that another Ravenclaw in his year thought you were quite attractive and wanted to ask you."

Lily held her breath, while the other girls looked at Alice with unconcealed impatience and curiosity – she apparently hadn't let any of them in about this.

"Who?" demanded Addie.

"Marcus Holland," Alice replied triumphantly. Lynn, Sarah, and Addie all gasped and exclaimed, while Lily sat there, stunned beyond belief. _Marcus Holland_? He was a fifth year, highly intelligent, and third best looking boy in the school, behind only Potter and Black. And _he_ wanted to go with _her_?

A grin slowly curled on Lily's lips. This Ball was the best idea Dumbledore had ever had.

Marcus asked her, and giggling – she still couldn't believe that, she _never_ giggled, but he was just so cute and sweet and _flustered_, like he thought she was going to say no – she accepted. Lily floated through the next few weeks, barely noticing that Potter had yet to approach her and ask her to the dance. She supposed that word had gotten around that she already had a date – maybe that was why he had been hexing the hell out of Sev lately, even worse than ever.

The weeks leading up to the Christmas Ball were spent trying to find the perfect dress and deciding how to do her hair and make-up. Finally, Lily settled on a dress – you know, _the_ dress, the one every girl dreams of finding, the soulmate of dresses – and a pair of shoes. She also agreed to let Addie do her hair and Lynn do her make-up, seeing as how she wasn't very good at either.

She woke up Christmas morning feeling extremely nervous and extremely excited. She would have said she had butterflies, but it felt more like giant, monstrous, man-eating moths were in her stomach. She and Marcus had spent a little time together since he asked her to the dance, and she was really hoping that after this night he would ask her to actually be his girlfriend.

Lily was in such a state she almost agreed to a snowball fight with Potter and his little friends. Luckily, she came to her senses and hurried inside to get ready.

She sat still for at least an hour and a half while Lynn and Addie fussed around her, pulling and poking and swearing. Finally, once they were done, she slipped into her dress and put her shoes on and turned to face the other girls. All of them gasped.

"Oh…my…GOD!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Lily Evans, you are a _babe_!" Addie squealed. Lily turned to look at herself in the full length mirror and was surprised at what she saw.

Addie had taken her red hair and curled it up into an elaborate twist. A few wispy pieces fell down and brushed her cheeks. Lynn had lined Lily's eyes with black eyeliner and then brushed silver eye shadow over her lids. Her eyelashes looked twice as long and thick, and she had a hint of lip gloss on her lips.

Her dress was black, strapless, with a white sash around her waist, and white beads formed an intricate, swirling design across her chest. It flowed softly around her legs and accentuated her hips.

She smiled – she did look pretty damn good. _Wait till Marcus sees me_, she thought happily.

Lily turned back to face the other girls.

"If I'm a babe, then you guys are as well. Look at yourselves!"

They were all gorgeous. Addie, in her bright red mini-dress, had curled her black hair and let it fall down her back. Lynn was wearing a blue halter dress and her blonde locks were in an elegant ponytail. Alice had chosen a one shouldered silver dress with an uneven hemline and she had simply used a few Straightening Charms on her brown hair. Sarah was wearing a simple green dress and had charmed her blonde hair to fall in waves around her face.

The five of them made quite an entrance into the common room. Most of the House was there, meeting dates or talking to their friends. Nearly everyone stopped and stared as the girls descended the staircase. Black and quite a few other guys whistled. To Lily's relief, Potter was nowhere to be seen.

Marcus's jaw dropped when he met her in the Entrance Hall, making her blush.

The Ball itself was a lot of fun. The music was really good and she and Marcus spent most of the night dancing and laughing. He was a really sweet, funny guy and she was _so_ grateful that Alice had told her he wanted to come with her – she couldn't imagine sitting up in her room with a book while everyone else was down here having fun.

Marcus's voice cut into her musings.

"I think Potter's going to kill me," he said quietly, his voice amused, his eyes focused at a point behind her. Lily felt her mood sink a little. She hadn't seen Potter or talked to him at all tonight, which was something of a miracle. He hadn't even been in her thoughts at all and nobody had mentioned him.

"Why do you say that?"

"He's standing by the door glaring at me like he would love nothing more than to disembowel me."

"Well," she said, "he's going to have to get over it. I am here with _you_, and I'm having a blast. I am not going to let _Potter_," she spat out his name, "ruin this evening for me."

Marcus smiled at her. "You are really an extraordinary young woman, Lily. I can see why Potter has a thing for you."

"Oh, please. Potter doesn't have a thing for me. He can't stand the fact that one girl in this school doesn't fall at his feet. He's after me for the chase."

Marcus looked at her disbelievingly, but let the subject drop.

"And," she continued, blushing slightly, "did you call me extraordinary?" He nodded, a small smile playing on his lips.

They stayed and danced for another half hour before Lily's feet were beginning to utterly kill her. Marcus, ever the gentleman, walked her up to the common room...well, the portrait really. They paused a little ways away from it so as to prevent the Fat Lady from eavesdropping.

"Lily…" he hesitated. "Would you be my girlfriend?"

She smiled, her heart dancing in her chest.

"Of course." He grinned, and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, before saying "See you tomorrow" and walking back to Ravenclaw Tower. Lily stood there for a moment, smiling to herself, before walking back to the Fat Lady, who was watching her eagerly.

"Mistletoe," Lily said, ignoring the disappointed look on her face as the portrait swung open.

Unfortunately, sitting in the common room at that moment was the one person she'd managed to avoid all night. She tried to walk past him quickly, not really in the mood for one of his cheesy pick-up lines or being asked out. _Although,_ she thought, _that wouldn't be such a bad thing, because I now have a boyfriend!_ Lily could have giggled at the thought, except she didn't want to invite any questions from him.

He stood and grabbed her arm and Lily, not having the energy to row with him and just hoping he wouldn't ruin her perfect evening, turned to look at him.

"I…well um…I…I just wanted…to say that you…you look beautiful tonight Lily."

Wait, what? Where was the "go out with me Evans" ritual? Was Potter stuttering…and _blushing_?

She figured she might as well be nice –"You don't look too bad yourself Potter." And it was true, he did clean up fairly well.

But then she wished she'd kept her mouth shut.

"I knew you liked me Evans."

She didn't even dignify that with a response, preferring to pull her arm out of his grasp and return to her dorm.

The news spread quickly after holidays that Lily Evans had somehow managed to become Marcus Holland's girlfriend. She was treated to many death glares and even a few attempted hexes. Not for the first time was she grateful she would never go out with Potter – she could only imagine what his little fan-girls would do to her, and it certainly didn't include inviting her to a slumber party where they would paint each other's toes.

Lily and Marcus were together and happy until March, when Marcus ended it out of nowhere, leaving Lily crushed and all her friends vowing revenge. He wouldn't say why he broke up with her, but she had a hunch, and a good one too. Potter.

She was even more infuriated when he played a part in her split with Blake Whites a few months later. Why else would a girl who had never shown any interest in Blake suddenly throw herself at him? She had no proof, nor did she ever confront him about it, but she was certain Potter had a hand in it.

The only thing preoccupying her more than Potter's scheming and general arseholeness (yes it is a word) was the further deterioration of her relationship with Sev. Nowadays they barely saw each other and the only class they spoke to each other in was Potions, where they were partners. It was really disappointing to Lily – he was her oldest friend, and he had pretty much introduced her to this amazing world she now called her home. He knew better than anyone what she went through at home with Petunia, and the fact that by next year they probably wouldn't even be acquaintances…well, it stung.

Lily was cheered to learn that she had gotten a job at Flourish and Blott's for the summer holidays, which was perfect since her parents had been temporarily transferred to London. Petunia was going on some trip with her school to the south of France, and so this summer seemed to be looking like a grand improvement on the others. The girls promised to come every so often and go to lunch with her.

Lily also had a pretty good feeling about a certain badge that might be flying towards her this summer – she had her fingers, eyes, arms, legs, and toes crossed on that one.

All in all, Lily thought as she hugged her friends good-bye, this might be a really good summer. _And_ since she more than likely would be Prefect, it gave her an excuse to both avoid Potter and try to keep him and his Marauders under a little better control.

* * *

**Yay, Year Four is done!!! Now I have to start Year Five! And work on the next chapter of _Returning_! And plan out my next fan-fic in a little more detail! Oy vey...Anyways, starting in the next chapter, Potter is going to play a much bigger part in Lily's thoughts than he has previously. I have mainly tried to make it where she doesn't think about him that much, and when she does, it's merely as an annoyance or someone she really detests.**

**But anyway, that's that chapter done...since I haven't done it in awhile..._NO, I don't own Harry Potter, the characters, the spells, the world, anything you can think of about Harry Potter, anything you can think of that makes you think of Harry Potter, anything you can think of that makes you think of something that makes you think of Harry Potter..._well you get the point.**

**And, as ever, REVIEW!!!! I haven't gotten a lot of reviews for this story yet, which disappoints me, but I promise if you review my story I will do my best to review to one of yours!!!! Marauder's Honor!!!**


	5. Year Five

Lily walked down the train towards the prefect's compartment, her badge glinting on her chest. To everyone else, she appeared happy and confident. In reality, she was panicking.

_What if Potter is prefect?_

Don't be ridiculous.

_Who else would it be? Not Black, and certainly not Pettigrew._

Remus.

_But he couldn't be – his 'problem' would make that almost impossible!_

It was with a feeling of impending doom that she walked into the prefect's compartment – if Potter was prefect, she was handing in her badge the second the train arrived at Hogwarts.

Luckily, there was no hint of messy black hair in the compartment. Then again, there were only a few other people there, older prefects by the look of it. Lily sat down and waited, all the while trying to convince herself that no-one in their right minds would make James Potter a prefect.

Fortunately, the door opened to admit Remus Lupin. Lily breathed a sigh of relief and smiled before waving him over.

The meeting was rather boring, and they were given times that they were supposed to patrol, as well as a list of meeting times. Lily sighed – she wasn't sure if she was going to enjoy being a prefect or not.

Potter asked her out the next day. He had stared at her all through the Welcome Feast the night before. It was ridiculous. He was being creative about it, she would give him that, but it was still unbelievably humiliating for her when he chose to stand on the Gryffindor table and yell for the entire school to hear how much he supposedly loved her and how his life would be complete if only she would go to Hogsmeade with him.

If it wasn't for the badge on her chest, she would have hexed him until he was in the Hospital Wing for a month. But her wand stayed in her back pocket as she turned and marched out of the Hall, ignoring the growling in her stomach – Lynn had showed her where the kitchens were last year, so she wasn't worried about starving.

Aside from Potter's constant humiliating of her, the first few weeks passed quickly, despite the fact that the teachers were now positively trying to murder them with homework. Even Lily, with all her knowledge and dedication, was struggling to keep up, especially with the added duty of patrols.

"Remus can I speak with you for a moment?"

All of the Marauders looked up at her. She could see Potter's jaw clench slightly – he was jealous…_of his best mate_. Lily couldn't help but take a vindictive pleasure in that.

Remus stood from the table in the Great Hall and followed her to an empty classroom.

"What's up Lily?"

"Well…" she trailed off, not sure how to begin. "I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need me to cover any of your patrols, I will."

"Thanks," he replied slowly. "But why would I miss any patrols?"

Lily shot him a look. "Oh in case someone in your family is ill or is getting married or you have a family emergency."

Remus visibly paled.

"I take it you figured it out."

"Yeah, last year," Lily shrugged. "But I don't really care, in all honesty. To me, you're still Remus, lycanthropy or not." She smiled and could practically see the tension flow out of his shoulders.

"Thanks Lily, that means a lot to me."

Remus was the only Marauder she considered to be a good person deep down, underneath all the pranks. Pettigrew was just a little hero-worshiper, Black was a womanizing ass, and Potter…

Potter was an arrogant, egotistical, bullying, self-centered, womanizing, lazy, arsehole. And that sentence would be much longer, but Lily ran out of adjectives. Not that there were even enough adjectives in the English language – or the French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, German, Russian, or Danish languages for that matter – to completely describe how she felt about Potter.

Luckily, all the extra work meant that she and Sev were speaking more frequently. They studied together for Potions, she helped him with Charms, and he helped her with Defense Against the Dark Arts. They met in the library almost every other day. Outside of studying was another story. They argued more than they ever had before, and Lily tried to fight the sinking feeling in her stomach that said their friendship had run its course. Mostly they argued about Potter. Sev insisted that he was an arrogant jerk, and while she agreed wholeheartedly, there were times she reminded Severus that they didn't always know what was going on in his life. Maybe something had happened and this was his way of dealing with it. When she presented this argument, Sev usually threw back in her face that obviously she fancied Potter. That stung more than anything else he could've said – her best friend, who knew her better than anyone, saying that she had feelings for that…that…_thing_.

Unfortunately, the Marauders were also there all the time, although she couldn't blame them – the younger students didn't seem to grasp the fact that this was a crucial time, and were being ridiculously noisy in the common room. Lily _was_ surprised to see that, rather than messing around like they usually did, the Marauders were actually _studying_. Remus must be putting them up to it, she decided.

Lynn had already collapsed from exhaustion by the time November rolled around. Several other students, Addie and Alice included, looked like they were ready to drop any day.

Lily was surprised that she hadn't completely come apart under all the strain yet. She was getting less sleep than anyone else – some nights she stayed in the common room reading or studying or drawing until the earliest hours of the morning, after having found it impossible to sleep. There were times when she felt like she was being watched, but there was never anyone around, so she usually brushed it off as being part of the sleep-deprivation she was consistently suffering from.

She felt better knowing that the holidays were approaching and she could use at least some of the time to relax.

Her holidays were off to a great start when, a week before break started, a seventh year named Aidan asked her to the last Hogsmeade trip of the term. She gladly said yes, hoping that for once she could date a guy without Potter's interference.

It didn't last long. Apparently, however much Aidan liked Lily, he was that much more scared of Potter. Lily was consoled by telling herself that if he couldn't stand up to Potter, then there was no way it was going to work between them, sweetheart though he may be.

She was pleasantly surprised that the Marauders were having a rather quiet break, and were allowing other people to study for their O.W.L.s in peace. She even had a snowball fight with them and the other fifth years as a way to let off steam – pounding Potter over and over again with snowballs _did_ make her feel better. Everything was going well, everyone was getting along…until Potter asked her out for the seven hundredth time. Rather than piss her off like it usually did, this year she was simply too tired to do more than say "No Potter," and walk away. Lily had a bad feeling that Potter was taking this as a sign that he was wearing her down, and so she avoided him whenever possible.

Once classes started up again, Lily didn't even have to try to avoid Potter – she was so swamped that she spent all of her time either in the library, in her dorm, or in the Room of Requirement. She also had to cover for Remus on patrols a few times, although she didn't mind as much – Remus was her friend. But at the same time, she couldn't help but notice that the other Marauders usually vanished the nights of the full moon along with Remus and were just as tired the next day. The only plausible explanation was that they were somehow going with Remus, but that wasn't possible – Remus could kill them.

What with all the homework, it seemed like the year was sailing by…January quickly turned into February, and before Lily knew it, it was Valentine's Day – her least favorite day of the entire year. Potter never let a Valentine's Day go without some kind of humiliating incident for her that everyone else in the school viewed as _sweet_.

But he didn't do anything. No singing Cupids, no floating hearts, no screaming "Lily I know you love me!" from the top of the marble staircase. Nothing. And it was freaking Lily out a little – James Potter didn't _ever_ leave her alone on Valentine's Day.

Apparently he had. Or at least that was what she thought until that night. All Lily had done was go to pick up a quill that someone had left on the table, debating whether or not she should attempt to finish the essay for Slughorn. Then the quill turned into a rose in her hand.

She started to turn around slowly, afraid that she would find Potter standing there with his typical smirk. He would run his hands through his hair and then ask her out – and expect her to say yes.

Lily jumped when vases of roses and rose petals appeared everywhere in the common room. _What the hell?_ She couldn't help but think.

_Potter_.

He's not even here.

_Who else would have done this for you…although it is rather sweet, and subdued…that's not really Potter's style._

Lily sighed, and waved her wand, Vanishing all the flowers and flower petals.

Except for one rose – it was such good magic, it seemed like a waste to get rid of all of it, whether or not is was from Potter. She picked it up and took it back upstairs with her, conjuring a vase and some water to keep it in.

But Potter was completely driven from her mind by O.W.L.s – it was like her brain was slowly being squeezed out of her head, little by little every day. Usually she liked to go over the test questions again afterwards, but these days her brain was so fried she could barely speak, let alone talk about test questions.

But she would rather have taken every single O.W.L test ten times than live through that scene by the lake. Severus saying that…that _word_ about her. It was Potter's fault. He was the reason their friendship had been so strained for the last few years. But Se-_Snape_ wasn't totally blameless. He hadn't really made an effort to stay friends, he had spent all of his time with those wannabe-Death Eaters instead of with her. It had only been a matter of time before their views rubbed off on him.

She didn't remember stumbling into the empty classroom, or anything really, for the next ten minutes. Then Potter was there, although at first she thought it was Sev-Snivellus coming to attempt to apologize.

"It's James, not Snape," a voice said.

"What do _you_ want, Potter?" She snapped, jerking her head up to look at him. Did he actually have _concern_ in those hazel eyes?

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I know he hurt your feelings back there and-"

"And what? You felt bad for me? Decided to come pity the poor little Mudblood?"

"Don't call yourself that Lily."

"Why not?" She laughed almost hysterically. "It's what I am, isn't it? I'm sure you think that sometimes, a spoiled, rich, little pureblood like yourself."

"No, I-"

"Oh, save it Potter. I don't care what you do or don't think about me. I never have. So why don't you just go?" He turned and started to walk away. _Good, now I can wallow in my misery in peace, without Potter here to_-

He sat on the desk across from her.

"_I told you to _GO. Go on, Potter. Get out." Potter sat silently in front of her. Couldn't he take a hint? She didn't want him here!

"Lily I know that hurt you back there. Sniv-Snape is supposed to be your best friend." What would he know about it? He had always hated Snape, had always seen him as an obstacle between Lily and him getting together. She wanted him to just leave before she jinxed him into a million pieces.

"You never liked him. What difference does it make to you? You're probably doing a little internal happy dance that he's out of the way, and now you think it will be easier to get me in a broom closet somewhere." James opened his mouth to interject but she cut him off. "Don't even try and tell me that you wouldn't. You don't think I know you, Potter? Know how your teenage male brain works? You have snogged damn near every girl in this school but me, and that just doesn't sit well with you does it? No, the great and mighty James Potter must conquer _everything_ about this school and that includes Lily Evans. So you pursue me, ask me out, _humiliate_ me, hex my…my best friend," she choked on the words, "all to get me to be yours for a week before you are tired of me."

She didn't know _why_ she was choosing now of all times to pour out her resentment at him, but Lily could only hope that it would make him leave her the hell alone for once.

"Lily, that's not what-"

"What this is? That's not why you've relentlessly made my life a living hell for the last four years? Chased off all my boyfriends? Spare me, Potter."

"Look, I know you're upset about the whole thing that just happened with Snivellus-"

Lily really didn't know what came over her. She just knew that all of a sudden, she had slapped James Potter harder than she ever had in their entire time at Hogwarts. Her hand stung from the force of it. She didn't really notice though – she was too furious with him, more than she'd ever been before, to be paying attention to really anything.

"Don't – call – him – that!" She hissed. "You calling him _Snivellus_ was one of the problems. You don't think that you hexing him and torturing him strained our friendship? I defended you sometimes, you know! I said that I was sure there was something going on in your life that made you so angry and frustrated that you took it out on other people like that. That deep, _deep_ down somewhere you had some decency in you. But you don't have a shred, and I am such an IDIOT," she yelled the last word. "Your life is FINE. You had no reason to hex him or anyone else the way you did. You just wanted to because you or Sirius was _bored_. Your over-inflated ego told you that it was alright. Did you think I was joking when I said I would rather date the Giant Squid than you? I would rather date ANYONE – I would rather jump off the Astronomy Tower – than ever, _ever_, let you touch me." Lily stopped yelling, her chest heaving, staring at Potter, daring him to say something.

What she wasn't expecting was to see hurt filling his eyes, fighting with anger. The anger won, needless to say.

"Wow Evans," he said quietly, and she almost recoiled. His voice was cold and soft, something she had never imagined hearing from him. "I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm sorry you think so little of me. Most of all, I'm sorry I was ever such an idiot to fall in love with you." Lily's eyes widened – Potter was _in love_ with her. That wasn't possible – arrogant jerks like him didn't fall in love. Potter laughed, a scornful sound that made Lily's skin crawl.

"Oh, not expecting that were you? And here you were, Miss High and Mighty, Madame Prefect, thinking all I wanted from you was a quick snog in an empty classroom. Never occurred to you that I might actually _care_ did it? That I might actually have some _feelings_ for you? That there actually was a _reason_ behind everything I ever did for you? I thought you were smart Evans. I come here to check on you, to make sure you were okay after what that ass you considered your best friend called you, and I get slapped, I get verbally abused, I get treated like _I'm_ the one who said that to you." He took a step towards her, still speaking in an oddly detached voice. "Do you have _any_ idea what hearing him call you that did to me? I had to resist the urge to hex him into a million little pieces – but I did so that I could come here and see how you were because I knew you wouldn't be taking it very well. Because I've been in love with you since last year."

Whatever Lily had been expecting him to say, it wasn't that. He stepped closer to her, her back pressing against the wall. He wouldn't…_force_ her, would he? He said he loved her, but then again he wasn't really himself right now. Potter was downright…_scary_.

"Don't worry, Lily, I won't do it again. Next time one of your friends insults and humiliates you, I'll go shut myself in my dorm and ignore you. I won't try to defend you or help you. No, I've learned my lesson there. You get your wish Evans – I'm done," he finished, looking at her with disdain in his eyes. "Congratulations," he added, before walking out, leaving her pressed against the wall, completely confused and emotionally drained.

When she returned to her room, she found that the rose from Valentine's Day, which had somehow stayed alive and was flourishing, was dead.

Potter's words hung in her head for the rest of the school year – not that there was much left. And the expression that had been on his face when she was yelling at him…he had been really and truly hurt. It dawned on her – when he had been asking her out, he had really wanted her to say yes because he liked – no, _loved_ – her. Not because it was some silly game, or because she was the only girl left in the school he hadn't taken to his favorite broom closet.

Lily didn't tell any of the girls what had happened, other than "Potter and I had a fight" but they seemed to sense this one was different. The entire school did.

The pranks from the Marauders were more subdued; James Potter was no longer paying Lily Evans any attention; the last month of school passed rather quietly, and all the students and even the teachers were wondering what the hell had happened.

Everyone was climbing aboard the Hogwarts Express – Lily wasn't looking forward to going home, but then again when did she?

All of her friends were talking and laughing about something or other – Lily wasn't paying attention. She was thinking about Potter.

The trains whistle blew, and she turned to look at the other students milling about. Her eyes met Potter's – he was watching her, but this time when she caught him, he didn't give his customary smirk or wink at her or call "Go out with me Evans?" across the crowd. His eyes held a sort of resigned acceptance, and she was surprised to feel a twinge of regret and remorse in her gut.

_James._

His name echoed through her head. She wanted to say something, but what?

He looked away and boarded the train with his friends.

Lily looked away too, trying not to cry, feeling surprised that it hurt.

* * *

**Voila! Year Five, complete! I know it took me forever - sorry bout that, school has been getting _insane_.**

**Anywhoozles [that's my word, nobody take it], I'm going to try and have Year Six up in at least a week, if not two.**

**Reviews=happy lkay09**

**Reviews=lkay09 updating faster**

**Reviews=y'all happier**

**It's a win/win situation, really.**

**So review!**


	6. Year Six

**A/N:** **Just a quick note - in this chapter there is a little voice that likes to nag Lily about James sometimes. Just so y'all know. To me, it's a representation of how James Potter literally drove Lily Evans crazy sometimes. Anyway, read on, and enjoy!!!**

* * *

Lily was apprehensive about returning to Hogwarts. It was understandable – at the end of last year, she and James had an enormous fight, which sometimes still haunted her, and she had lost her best friend. Despite the fact that she and Alice had spent a lot of time at each other's houses, the summer had still been long and somewhat stressful.

She couldn't help but wonder if James – she had stopped referring to him as Potter sometime in July – had meant what he said, that he was giving up on her. It would make this year much more peaceful and yet much less like a school year if he did.

Lily hadn't totally filled all the girls in on the fight yet, and decided to do so on the train ride back – she really needed their opinions and advice.

Unfortunately, she had no sooner finished telling them the entire story when she ran into James himself at the food trolley.

"Evans."

"Potter…"

And then he turned and walked off, leaving Lily feeling extremely confused. It was only then she realized that she hadn't truly expected Potter to leave her alone. She had figured the summer would be long enough to reinflate his ego and then everything would be back to normal. But he had barely acknowledged her.

Everyone else in the school noticed as well. The first few weeks were quiet between them, strangely so. Nobody could understand it, although some people were visibly relieved, especially the teachers and some girls who had always felt Lily was getting in their way of a real relationship with James. But Lily was left feeling slightly hollow and guilty about the entire thing – slapping him at the end of the year, yelling at him, everything.

_Because I've been in love with you since last year._

Those words, more than any others, had a tendency to crop up in her thoughts, making her feel even more remorseful than she had thought possible.

"But he can't really be in love with me, can he? I mean, it's James Potter!" She asked the other girls somewhat desperately two weeks into term.

Addie and Lynn exchanged looks.

"Lil, it wouldn't surprise me," Sarah said slowly from her bed. "He's been chasing after you for all these years, and you haven't exactly been pleasant to him at all. I don't know why anyone would put up with that for all this time, unless he really loves you."

Lily turned to look at Alice, hoping for some support. Alice shook her head.

"I've seen how he looks at you when you aren't looking. Pretty much everyone has, even the teachers, and probably even the ghosts and Peeves. He stares at you with this look of pure adoration in his eyes, like he would love nothing more than to be able to hold you and spend countless hours with you. He looks at you like you're his whole world."

Lily tried to fight the sinking feeling in her stomach by telling herself it was only a matter of time before James went back to being the arrogant jerk he was. But September faded into October, and James still hadn't asked her out once, hadn't pranked anyone except – her gut twisted – Seve-Snape, and was paying attention in class and doing better than he used to. He still had moments where he was a Marauder and acted like an idiot, but they didn't last longer than a few hours, and sometimes it seemed forced.

For some reason one Saturday, Lily found herself sitting in the stands watching the Gryffindor Quidditch team practice. James was a good flier, and he looked so natural and so at peace on a broom.

He almost caught her watching him when he turned to yell at Sirius (Lily had begun to call all of the Marauders by their first names), but she averted her eyes and pretended to be watching one of the Chasers. Her eyes drifted back to him of their own accord once he had turned around.

She didn't know what made her do it. All Lily knew was that she was standing behind James asking to talk to him.

And he was ignoring her.

"James?"

That certainly caught his attention, and made everyone in the hall dissolve into whispers – Lily Evans never referred to James Potter by his first name.

Lily looked over her shoulder as they left the Great Hall. James was walking next to her in some kind of daze. Her eyes met Professor Dumbledore's and he gave her a small smile.

James was watching her expectantly as she tried to figure out exactly what she wanted to say.

"Um I...well really I just wanted…you see, I – I'm sorry." She tried not to giggle as James pinched himself and looked at her blankly.

"Last year, after the whole thing with Seve-Snape, and I yelled at you and hit you…well, I'm sorry. You were just trying to stick up for me and I was just a mess because I thought Snape was my best friend but it turns out he's not, he's just a stupid Slytherin like the rest of them and it really wasn't fair of me to say the stuff I did and I'm really sorry I slapped you, and so…yeah…" Lily looked up at him, hoping he wasn't too mad.

_Since when do you care if Potter's mad at you or not?_

Oh, not you again.

Wait, James was talking.

"…wasn't really mad – well maybe a little – but it didn't last long." Oh, that's good.

Lily saw Snape walk out of the Great Hall and felt a small surge of anger when he stopped and watched them.

"Friends?" She found herself asking James.

"Evans, if you are only asking because of a certain greasy git standing over there then please don't. If you really mean it, then absolutely."

Lily had to think for a moment – yes she wanted to hurt Sev after what he had said to her, and becoming friends with the person that he hated most would certainly do that. But she was also curious about James himself, and the fact that he was quite different than he had been last year.

"What if it's for both reasons? I _would_ like to be friends with you, but it also doesn't hurt that it pisses him off does it?"

James grinned and shook her hand – unfortunately, this made Snape approach. Lily sighed inwardly. She knew they were going to have to talk at some point, but she really would have preferred if it had been a point much further in the future.

He had the nerve to ask her if he could speak with her privately. Already feeling a headache pounding at her temples, she refused, and called him Snivellus – something she regretted later and made her feel very hypocritical.

But she had a new friend out of it – four actually, since you couldn't befriend one Marauder without taking on all of them. The fact that Lily Evans now tolerated all the Marauders, _including_ James Potter, caused quite a stir in the school for a few weeks. Addie and Lynn had taken to randomly asking her questions that only the real Lily would know and be able to answer (sanely), convinced that she either had been Polyjuiced or put under some sort of spell.

Alice only smirked knowingly and repeated her prophecy of "you and Potter are going to end up married" to which Lily would only shake her head and shudder at the thought.

James friendship turned out to be not only fun but beneficial to her grades in Transfiguration and his in Charms and Potions.

The only problem – at the moment – was the fact that she had begun to take notice of the fact that he, along with Sirius and Peter, disappeared with Remus the nights of the full moon. She knew it wasn't possible for them to go with him wherever he went – he could kill them – but it didn't stop her from worrying.

Well, if she admitted it to herself, there was another problem. She was…maybe…thinking that…she might possibly…a little…fancy James. But not much, just a little. Lily couldn't help it sometimes – he was a wonderful friend, loyal, funny, a good student, and never boring to be around. He wasn't nearly as arrogant as he used to be, and he didn't randomly hex people in the halls anymore. James had confessed to her that he used to do it around her because she made him really nervous and he couldn't think of anything else when she was around.

Lily almost wished he would revert a little bit back to how he used to be, simply so she could have a reason to not like him at all. But now, instead of rowing, they simply bantered and neither of them made frequent trips to the Hospital Wing anymore – by 'neither of them' she really meant him, since he had never hexed her.

Christmas holidays began, and the girls and Remus and Peter went home, leaving Lily with James and Sirius.

Lily couldn't help but become more and more curious about the Marauders monthly vanishings, and so began to question James about it. He got irate every time she brought it up and always quickly changed the subject or found an excuse to leave. Unfortunately, things were becoming tense between them.

On Christmas Day, Lily found herself sitting by the lake next to James, telling him why she never went home for the holidays. She hated talking about the almost complete disintegration of her and Petunia's relationship but found that after telling James, she felt much better, like a weight was taken off her chest.

And then he put his arm around her and she leaned into him and wondered why in the hell her stomach was fluttering ever so slightly. She also couldn't help but notice that she and James fit well into each other. That thought only made her stomach flutter even more and so she resolutely pushed the thought out of her head.

She and James spent a few more hours in the common room, just talking. It was weird to Lily how easily she could talk to James, how comfortable she was telling him things that not even Lynn, Addie, or Sarah knew. Alice knew everything. Unfortunately, Lily found it harder and harder to keep her eyes open, and finally had to be nudged awake by James. He walked her to the staircase, and she surprised herself by hugging him.

Pulling away, she glanced up at his face and saw over his head…mistletoe.

Oh. Bloody. Hell.

James surprised her by taking a step backwards – he clearly didn't want to try to kiss her and risk messing up their evening and their friendship. She could see in his eyes though that he _did_ want to kiss her, and so she did the craziest thing she'd ever done in her life.

She took a step towards James and kissed him.

Holy. Crap.

Who knew James Potter was such a good kisser? Well, most of the girls in the school did, but that's beside the point.

Lily felt James start to pull away, and her arms acted of their own accord, wrapping themselves around his neck to ensure he stayed right where he was. She felt him wrap one arm around her waist, and the other hand was threaded through her hair.

_Oh, you are totally enjoying this!_

Now is really not the time.

Lily managed to ignore the little voice that popped up whenever James Potter was around lately, and ran her fingers through some of his hair. No wonder he was always doing that, his hair was really soft.

_I knew you fancied him!_

That, more than anything, made Lily pull away from James, finally. He was staring at her, completely and utterly shocked. His hand rested on her hip and she felt no urge to move it off.

"Sorry – I just – oh damnit – I'm not really thinking clearly and I just – James I'm sorry – oh, I hope you're not mad – _oh my God_ this is horrible – I'm going to bed now – we can pretend that didn't happen – James I'm really, _really_, sorry!"

And she turned and ran. Not the smartest thing to do, she thought later, but it was the only option available at the time.

Lily flung herself on her bed, determined not to cry. She rolled over to her back and looked at the canopy over her bed. She had bewitched it this year to look like the night sky and so even during the day she could search for her favorite constellations.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!

_Lily, I think it's time you deal with the fact that James loves you and you fancy him as well._

But it will ruin our friendship!

_But you will get something even better in return. Why don't you give it a chance?_

Lily had no answer for that – she just knew she felt too conflicted to even think about beginning a relationship with James.

She was extremely relieved when the other student returned and she and James and Sirius were no longer the sole inhabitants of Gryffindor Tower. It was easier being around him when all the other Marauders were around, and sometimes her friends joined them as well.

Things were returning to normal by the time the next Quidditch game – on Valentine's Day, against Slytherin – rolled around. The Marauders managed to drag her along – well, James begged, and Remus and Sirius did the dragging.

Considering how few games Lily usually went to, she rather enjoyed this one. It gave her an excuse to stare at James as he flew. She marveled again at how natural he seemed to be flying, how at home he was on a broom.

Gryffindor won, to nobody's surprise. But then that Slytherin Beater hit a Bludger (Sirius had explained to her the positions and the balls throughout the game) at James and hit him in the back of the head. He fell through the sky and Lily felt her heart jump into her throat. Before she knew what she was doing, she was running through the stands, pushing aside all the people to get to the field, Sirius and Remus right behind her. Nobody knew – or cared at the moment – where Peter was.

James was unconscious in the middle of the field, surrounded by Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Madam Pomfrey, who was magicking him onto a stretcher.

They all waited by his bed in the Hospital Wing for hours. Sirius rubbed Lily's back when she started crying, and when Madam Pomfrey came by and suggested they leave because James was going to be unconscious for quite awhile, Sirius and Remus stood to go.

"Lily?" Came Remus's voice.

She shook her head. "I'm going to stay a little longer, ok?" Remus and Sirius left and Madam Pomfrey went to tend to another student.

Lily didn't know how long she was there, but she apparently fell asleep at some point. She was woken up by James, and practically threw herself on him, hugging him tightly. It was only after she realized he was still somewhat injured and she wasn't helping that she pulled away. Lily was surprised to find that her eyes had welled up again – what was it about James Potter that made her want to cry so much?

And then he had the nerve to smile at her like everything was fine, so she punched him. Only in the arm though.

"Don't _do_ that!"

"Do what?"

"Scare me like that! I thought you were dead, you fell so far!"

"Oh, well I'm sorry – I didn't mean to." She could tell he was fighting back a smile.

"Oh, I know you didn't mean to, James, but still…I don't want anything to happen to you." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she could feel her cheeks turning slightly pink. What happened to not leading him on or giving him ideas?

"This is quite a turnaround, I must say. Last year you would have gladly been the one to smack that Bludger at me."

"Yeah, well…that was last year. Now you're…you're…" she didn't quite know how to end that sentence. My friend? My favorite Marauder? The guy I happen to fancy the pants off of?

He tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes. She could read the anticipation there.

"You're my best friend." He dropped his hand, and disappointment was evident on his face.

"I'm sorry James. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but it's all I can give you right now. I just don't feel that way about you-" _Liar, liar, pants on fire!_ "-You _do_ mean a lot to me though. And I don't know what I would do without you anymore."

James sighed. "It's ok. I don't expect you to have any feelings for me, honestly. I know I treated you like crap for the last five years, and for that _I'm_ sorry. I'm just glad that you're my friend now, and you don't hate my guts anymore." She smiled at that, and reached over to give him another hug before leaving.

The rest of the year began to speed by, which Lily disliked. Next year was her last year at Hogwarts and she didn't want to leave yet. It wasn't so much that she would miss the classes themselves – even though she loved learning – as she would miss the teachers, her friends, and the little routines that she had developed over the last five and a half years.

She still waited up for the Marauders during the full moon, but was becoming increasingly irritated with James's refusal to tell her where they went and how they were with Remus without him killing them. It crossed her mind once or twice that maybe _all_ of them were werewolves, but she discarded that idea – James, Sirius, and Peter were usually in class the days following the full moon, and Remus wasn't.

Lily stared at the fire, waiting for them to come back. She knew they wouldn't leave Remus until four or five in the morning, but she was always to worried to sleep, though James repeatedly assured her that her worries were unfounded.

And they were – until James came back into the Common Room early one night, scratched and limping and nursing his right shoulder. It took all of Lily's self control to not scream or faint. Instead, she mended his cuts as best she could – Madam Pomfrey had been showing her how since she had decided to study to be a Healer.

Even after this, despite the fact that she knew he was still in love with her – and sometimes she wondered if she was in love with him too – he wouldn't explain anything to her.

After she threatened to never speak to him again – a threat she wasn't a hundred percent sure she could follow through on – he acquiesced, and agreed to explain everything to her after the End of Term Feast in two weeks. She wasn't pleased, but decided it was better than not knowing at all.

They waited until everyone had left for the feast before James went upstairs. He came back down carrying a large piece of silvery cloth, which he explained was his Invisibility Cloak. Lily was predictably confused – she could understand how that would get them out of the castle, but not how it would protect them from Remus once he was transformed.

James led her, under the Cloak, to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and began rambling incoherently. All she managed to pick out was Sirius had an idea to help Remus, and it took them forever and they had to help Peter because he wasn't very smart. She cut across him.

"James, you aren't making any sense."

James let out a breath and said, "Right. Well…well then I guess…I guess I'll just show you."

And right there, in front of her, James Potter turned into a stag. A beautiful stag, with large hazel eyes, and a deep brown coat. Lily's jaw dropped. Of all the things she could have imagined, this was definitely not one – he was an Animagus. All of them were. A small part of her wondered what they could turn into, but was too preoccupied with staring at James. Now his nickname made sense – Prongs.

A memory sparked in the back of her mind. Their Defense professor's words from their lesson on Patronuses floated through her brain…

"_A person's Patronus has a special meaning. The shape it takes is usually an animal and is significant to the witch or wizard that conjured it. It is believed that a person's Patronus reflects the witch or wizard's true love, or the love of their life, since the happy memory they use is more often than not based on them."_

Lily had been practicing the spell in her free time and a week ago had conjured a full Patronus.

She wanted to tell James, to explain to him and ask him about this, but she found she couldn't summon any words.

Instead, she raised her wand. Prongs took a few steps back, probably thinking she was going to curse him. She shook her head.

"_Expecto Patronum._"

And the silver doe she had conjured a week ago reappeared. Lily watched Prongs for his reaction. She wasn't sure where Prongs and James connected when he was a stag, but she knew part of this had to be registering for him.

Prongs eyes widened slightly and she knew he was slowly connecting the dots. He turned his majestic head to the side as though thinking, and Lily couldn't take it anymore. She ran, the Patronus vanishing as she went.

She was nearly to the castle when she heard him calling her name, but she ignored it and kept running. She needed to get back to her room and think, try to figure all this out. Once she reached her dorm, she knew she was safe – James couldn't get up the girls staircase, although it wouldn't surprise her if he had found a way.

Lily lay on her bed, ignoring her rumbling stomach and her roommates' snores, and stared up at the constellations on her canopy.

James was a stag. Her Patronus was a doe. James was still in love with her. She fancied him, had for awhile, and was probably nearly in love with him as well.

But what about their friendship?

_You'll be getting something much better, I've already told you this._

Oh, not you again.

_Yes, me again._

Now is not the time.

_I have to knock some sense into you – this thing with the Patronus is a _good_ thing, a very good thing._

No it's not – what if we get together, and then break up? I don't want to lose four friends!

_Have you not been paying attention? The whole stag/doe thing proves that you and James are _meant_ to be together. You won't break up! You're the loves of each other's lives!_

Lily rolled onto her stomach and pulled her pillow over her head, hoping to drown the voice out.

_I'll talk to him at the beginning of next term_, she though decisively. She wanted all summer to think this over and talk to her friends about.

But on the bright side, she had a pretty good chance of making Head Girl next year. She was extremely curious as to who Head Boy would be…

* * *

**A/N:** **I confess myself...disappointed. Hardly anybody is reviewing this story. I'm not really feeling the love :(.**  
**But I do like this chapter, I think I did pretty well. For some reason, it's harder for me to write this story from Lily's viewpoint than it is from James's, which is why I haven't updated this one as quickly as I did _Seven Years With Lily_.**  
**Anyways, just a few more chapters left. I hope to have the first half of Year Seven up by next Monday. I might be able to get it up sooner if people review! I know people have it on their alerts, so if you read, review! I appreciate it a lot, and I will do my best to go read and review one of your stories!**  
**One last thing (I think this is my longest A/N yet!)...I have a poll up on my profile, since I can't decide what to write my next story about. I have three ideas that I want to do, but I don't know what order to do them in. Hence the poll. So vote on that please, it will be open until I finish _Seven Years With James_ and _Returning_, which I just have to write the epilogue on.**  
**Vote and _REVIEW!!!!!!_ You know you want to!!!**

**~Lkay09**


	7. Year Seven Part One

**Me, JK Rowling? Psh, as if!**

* * *

Lily was positively dreading going back to school. She was Head Girl, something to be happy about and celebrating, right?

Wrong.

James Potter was Head Boy. James Potter, her erstwhile best friend. James Potter, who she had studiously avoided the entire summer – harder than it sounds. James Potter, who she fancied the pants off of.

James bloody Potter.

She had run into Remus in the hall on the train on her way to the Heads Carriage. He had been the unfortunate soul who had to tell her that he was not Head Boy, like she had hoped, but that James was.

She felt awkward around him in the Heads Carriage, but decided to keep the conversation strictly on Heads' business. James hadn't been a prefect, so she took it upon herself to inform him about patrols, meetings, and organizing Hogsmeade trips. He didn't show any interest in anything until she mentioned the Christmas Ball. He didn't seem very pleased with the idea.

To be honest, Lily wasn't really looking forward to it either, but as Heads they would be required to plan and organize the whole thing, as well as greeting the students when they arrived.

At the prefects meeting, all they had to do was give them patrol times and briefly go over expectations for the new ones. Afterwards, Lily ducked out and wove through the people in the hall, hoping to avoid James. She made it to her friends' compartment at the end of the train.

Tugging open the door, she flopped into a seat next to Addie and tilted her head back, closing her eyes.

"So…" Addie drew the word out. Lily would dearly love to have replied 'So what?' but Addie was a total smart-ass and did not need encouragement.

"Yes?" She replied instead. She could practically sense Addie's disappointment.

"Who's Head Boy?" Lynn pressed.

Lily kept her eyes closed as she answered, "James." She didn't have to have her eyes open to know that her friends' faces had just split into four identical evil grins.

"That's…interesting," Sarah said with barely contained glee. She exchanged a look with Alice.

They were all quiet for a few minutes, Alice and Lynn concentrating on their chess game while the others watched.

"Say, Lily," Addie began with an innocence that deceived no-one, "did you know that the Heads live together in their own rooms away from everyone else?"

Lily opened her eyes to stare at the girl. She smiled sweetly. The other girls were shaking with suppressed laughter.

"No they don't," Lily replied uncertainly. Alice laughed even harder.

"Yes…they…do," Lynn managed to choke out.

Lily shook her head. "No. _NO_. I absolutely _refuse_ to live with James Potter. I don't believe you – this is just something you've made up to mess with my head."

"Think what you want Lily," Sarah said, wiping tears of laughter off her cheeks.

"Plus," Alice added slyly, "even if James and Lily don't end up living together while at Hogwarts, I have a feeling it won't be long after graduation before they are."

Lily refused to dignify that with a response, instead burying her nose in her Charms book for the rest of the train ride.

The feast passed in something of a haze. She had been enjoying it until she looked down the table and saw James _flirting with another girl_. Lily tried to ignore the boiling feeling that made her want to rip out the girl's hair. It wasn't her fault that James was so irresistible.

Lily almost forgot about the meeting with Dumbledore after the feast, and arrived with only a minute or two to spare. And then Dumbledore gave her news that made her want to simultaneously dance for happiness and throw herself off the Astronomy Tower.

The Heads had their own dorms.

She was going to kill her friends.

They were really pretty rooms too. The common room was red and gold, with quite a few bookcases already full of books. There were comfy looking armchairs and a couch. The fireplace wasn't lit, but Lily could easily imagine curling up in front of a fire over Christmas holidays with a nice book and blanket. There were also two mahogany doors on either side of the room – one had a cursive L, the other a J.

She caught James staring at her, and mumbled an excuse to leave, before practically sprinting into her room. It was decorated in red and gold as well, with a really pretty view of the lake. Lily threw herself onto her bed, groaning into her pillow. How on _Earth_ was she supposed to survive an entire year living with James Potter?

Over the first few weeks, she made it a point to have as little contact with James as possible. Whenever he entered a room, she left it a few minutes later (unless of course it was a classroom). He usually tried to talk to her during patrols, but she managed to completely halt all conversation rather quickly. She could sense his building frustrations and confusion, but neither of those emotions stopped him from flirting with other girls. If Lily didn't know any better, she would say he was doing it just to piss her off. But then again, James Potter was a naturally friendly, flirty person – she could only hope she was reading too much into it.

James Potter is also a very cranky and stubborn person sometimes. And he didn't seem to take too kindly to Lily avoiding him.

"LILY EVANS!"

Lily nervously stuck her head back of her room – she had just gone in there a few seconds ago to avoid James after he had sat down in the Common Room.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

Wait, what? Lily stepped outside her room…if only by a few inches.

"What do you-?"

"WHY THE _HELL_ HAVE YOU BEEN IGNORING ME AND AVOIDING ME SINCE SCHOOL STARTED?"

"Oh, that." She could feel her cheeks turning red.

"Yeah, that."

"Well…I…I didn't know if…if _you_ wanted to talk…to _me_…"

"Why on _Earth_ would you think I wouldn't want to talk to you?" _Oh, I don't know, maybe because you've been flirting with everything in a skirt since school started, and since I now fancy you, that could make it a little awkward._

"Because the last time you and I talked there was that whole thing with your Animagus form and my P-Patronus, and I thought that maybe you wanted to avoid me because I know things between us were good, and then they got messed up and so-"

"WHY WOULD-" he paused and lowered his voice. "Sorry – why would you think things between us were messed up?" _Maybe because we're apparently soulmates, and you don't seem to have any interest in me anymore whatsoever._

"Because we were friends, but the whole stag-doe thing…it just…"

"Lily, we're _still_ friends."

Now Lily was the one pissed off – not at James, but at herself. She had had her chance with him; he had asked her out for about three or four straight years. But of course he would finally lose interest right when Lily developed feelings for him. Just her luck.

_But maybe he still loves you!_

Oh. Crap. Are you back?

_Mayyyyybe._

Lily didn't even realize she was still talking to James – she was so absorbed in her thoughts that she was unaware of whatever was coming out of her mouth. Well, at least until James asked what was going on with her. Then she just couldn't stop herself.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" she shrieked. "WHAT'S GOING ON IS YOU PURSUE ME FOR _YEARS_ AND MAKE MY LIFE _BLOODY_ _MISERABLE_. THEN WE BECOME FRIENDS – AND THEN THAT WHOLE THING HAPPENED, AND JUST WHEN – _JUST WHEN_ – I FIGURE OUT WHAT I FEEL FOR YOU, YOU HAVE TO GO AND SAY WE'RE _FRIENDS_!" She threw her hands up in the air.

Okay, maybe she shouldn't have said that much.

Or, since the next thing she was really aware of was James kissing her, maybe she should have.

When they finally broke apart, they were both practically gasping for breath. James was just staring at her, holding her face in his hands gently.

"Well, well, well," she drawled, not really sure where the words were coming from, "That was interesting." James just nodded, one of his thumbs stroking her cheek. "Why Mr Potter, are you at a loss for words?" He nodded again.

"Well, I bet _I_ know what will make you talk…Actually, no, this might just make you even more speechless." James gave her a challenging look, and so Lily took a deep breath.

"James Potter – will you go out with me?"

His jaw dropped. Lily had to fight back a giggle at that.

James just stood there staring at her, his mouth agape, for a few minutes, making Lily more and more uncomfortable. If he really didn't want to go out with her, he should just say so.

_But _he_ kissed_ you_, remember that little detail?_

"You know Potter, you could hurt a girl's feelings if you don't say something."

Lily watched, mesmerized, as James slowly lowered his head.

His breath fanned over her lips – "Yes."

Lily smirked and whispered back, "Told you I could get you to talk," before James effectively silenced her.

They caused quite a stir the next morning at breakfast. When James leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, she could feel the hatred emanating from at least thirty or more girls in the Great Hall. If looks could kill, Lily would be dead and buried so far she's be popping out of the ground in Japan. She could also see her friends exchanging smug looks a few seats down. Lily owed them, in a roundabout way.

It surprised her how easy it was to be James Potter's girlfriend, if for no other reason than he was the most amazing boyfriend in the world. The only challenging part was the fact that other girls in the school refused to accept that James belonged with Lily – they still flirted with him, and a few of the braver ones asked him out. Some of the stupid ones asked him out when she was right there, and if it weren't for the fact that James was usually holding her wand hand, all of those girls would have been in the hospital wing in two seconds flat.

Everything was going well, until the middle of November. Then the nightmares started.

Usually, they were just a Death Eater chasing her, or cornering her. Then sometimes they became her parents and Petunia being attacked and killed. Despite the fact that she and Petunia no longer spoke unless absolutely necessary, they were still sisters, and Lily would be devastated if anything happened to her.

The worst, and most recurring, one she had was of Lord Voldemort killing James in front of her. The first time she had this one, she was woken up by James after coming back from helping Remus. She was just so happy to see that he was really alive and okay that she refused to let go of him as he carried her into her room and set her down.

"James can you – would you stay with me tonight?" Lily was surprised to hear the words come out of her mouth (that seemed to happen a lot around James), but was glad she said them nonetheless. She was scared to go back to sleep by herself.

"Of course. I'll be right back, okay?"

James went to his room and Lily rolled onto her side and curled up, trying really hard not to think about the nightmare. It was easily the scariest one she had had so far.

James came back into her room and lay down next to her on the bed, on top of the covers, which she thought was really cute of him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and rested his chin on top of her head. In only a few minutes, she was asleep.

Unfortunately, the nightmares didn't stop. And because the war outside was growing, her fears that the dreams would become a reality also grew. Whenever she had a nightmare, she would either go to James or he would come to her. It's pretty safe to say that without him, Lily would have gone insane.

Well, she was still going insane. On the few nights that she didn't have nightmare, she couldn't sleep anyway. Lily was inclined to blame James, since on the nights that she _did_ have nightmares, she slept soundly next to him, whereas now she couldn't sleep at all without him. The question was, how to solve her sleep problems without rushing their relationship?

Those thoughts were pushed out of her head – temporarily – by the approaching Ball. She had already found the perfect dress and had figured out how she wanted to do her hair. Her friends were disappointed that she wouldn't be getting ready with them this time, but they understood that since she was going with James, and they lived in a different part of the castle, it wouldn't really make much sense.

"We would hate to intrude upon your lovey-dovey snogging time," was the way Addie put it.

But it seemed that other people _would_. Girls were still asking James out left, right, and center, and it was really starting to frustrate James and piss off Lily.

Apparently James had reached his breaking point, because one morning he stood on top of Gryffindor table - "Mr Potter, GET DOWN!" – and started shouting.

"EXCUSE ME! I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE!" Gradually people stopped talking and focused on James. Lily could see the hope on some girls faces – did they think he was about to announce that he and Lily were breaking up or something?

"Since so many of you have been asking me to the Christmas Ball, I am going to take it upon myself to inform everyone that I will be going with _Lily Evans_, my fellow Head student and my _girlfriend_," he emphasized the last word, and Lily felt a glow of pleasure. Especially after spotting the other girls looks. One had even started crying.

And then he jumped off the table and kissed her in front of everyone – not that she minded all that much. I love this man, she thought.

_Aha! I knew it!_

Now…how to tell him?

Finally, after tossing and turning uselessly another night, Lily seized upon all her Gryffindor courage and went to James's room. He was still sleeping, so she sat on the edge of his bed debating whether or not to wake him up.

James slowly opened his eyes and squinted at her before reaching over for his glasses.

"I couldn't sleep."

He pulled her to him, and she rested her head on his chest.

"Another nightmare?"

She shook her head and snuggled closer to him. "Just couldn't sleep. I don't sleep really well anymore." Lily took a deep breath, steeling herself.

_You can do this_.

"Not unless you're next to me, anyways."

She could hear James's heart racing under her ear. Praying it was a good sign, she continued.

"I love you James."

He was silent. Lily could slowly feel her heart breaking – he didn't love her back. It's okay, she told herself – eventually he would.

Finally the silence got to her. "James?" He looked down at her, his faraway expression fading.

"It – it's okay," she said quietly, pulling back a little. "If you don't – don't love – me too. We've only been dating for, what, a month? A month and a half?" Lily gave a nervous laugh. "Don't worry, I – I get it – I, umm…I think maybe I'll just…" she made to move off the bed but he grabbed her and pulled – yanked her, more like – her back to him.

Lily buried her head in his chest, not wanting to meet his eyes. She didn't want to see any pity.

"Lily, I love you too."

Wait, what?

_Did you really think that James Potter didn't love you?_

Umm…maybe?

"Come on – I've been in love with you since fourth year, you know that!" Lily nodded, not completely trusting herself to speak.

Then James made the suggestion that she sleep in there with him from now on, and she readily agreed before falling asleep.

Christmas holidays, as well as the Ball, were quickly approaching, and she found herself more excited than ever. She already found James's Christmas present – hopefully he would like it. Lily had never given a guy other than Snape a present before, and even as well as she knew him, she still wasn't one hundred percent sure he would like it.

Christmas Eve was wonderful. She and James had been in charge of hanging the mistletoe all over the school a few days earlier, and they went on a sort of hunt to find every one and kiss underneath it. It was probably one of the better days she had had. Before that, they had been in Hogsmeade with their friends, getting some butterbeer and discussing the dance the next night.

James disappeared for a few hours after dinner, and Sirius attempted to distract her so she wouldn't notice. As if.

When he reappeared in the Heads Common Room later that evening, she didn't pry too much, just arched an eyebrow. Lily decided that, in the spirit of Christmas, she could let him off once. As long as he hadn't been off snogging some other girl, then everything was fine.

Lily scooted over so that he could sit next to her on the couch. He sat – then sprawled out so that he was practically shoving her off. Before she could do more than look at him, he had grabbed her arm and pulled her on top of him. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him and rested her head under his chin. He placed his arms around her waist, his hands on the small of her back.

Lily smiled drowsily, letting the peace and quiet take over and pull her to sleep. She had one last thought before falling asleep completely.

_I am the luckiest girl in the world._

**Ok, so that's the first half of Year Seven. Just a quick note - I have finals the next week and a half, and so I may or may not update until Friday or Saturday. If I don't update then, it will be at least another week, because on top of studying, I have to pack everything up to move out of my dorm. So bear with me please!  
Did anyone notice that I kind of used a line from _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_ in here? Obviously it isn't Harry that said it, it was Lily - sort of. Can you figure out what it was?? Virtual cookies to whoever does!  
As always, REVIEW!!!**


	8. Year Seven Part Two

**Eek! Final chapter! Then epilogue! See you at the bottom!**

* * *

Lily paused in the Common Room, pressing her palm to her chest. She hoped in vain that it would make the crushing pain in her chest lessen. No such luck. She bit her lip, trying desperately not to cry anymore. He didn't deserve it – her tears, her heartbreak, any of it.

Furiously, she wiped the tears off her cheeks and felt something scrape her skin.

_Lily opened the small box and stared at the ring inside. It was a small band of silver stars. There were no gemstones or anything, but it was beautiful in its simplicity._

"_It – it's not meant to – to be like an – an engagement ring, if that's what you're thinking. I just saw it in Hogsmeade and thought it was perfect." Lily could feel tears filling her eyes as she looked up at him. He had bought her a _ring_, and she had got him _books_. Admittedly, they were Quidditch books, on famous Seekers and tactics, and he had been excited and had already skimmed through one of them, but now she felt like a horrible girlfriend._

_She couldn't resist – she threw herself at him, knocking him onto his back._

"_It _is _perfect, James. Thank you so much." She could feel him sliding the ring onto her third finger on her left hand – the same place she hoped he would be putting an engagement and wedding ring in the future. The thought shocked her – she knew she loved James, but she had never imagined herself marrying him before._

"_I love you."_

_He kissed her and replied, "I love you too."_

She pulled the band off her finger and flung it across the room. It hit the wall and then landed on the floor with a small _clink_.

Lily wiped her face again and walked into her room. She pulled off her dress and threw it under her bed – she never wanted to see it again. After she changed clothes, she went back to the Common Room and picked up her ring and walked back to her room, trying to decide what to do with it. She didn't want it anymore, but returning it to James would mean having to talk to him and he would no doubt try to explain.

And the problem was – she might believe him.

_He pushed a strand of hair off her shoulder and kissed her temple, right above the lily he had placed in her hair, as they spun around the floor slowly._

"_You look so beautiful, Lily," he whispered in her ear. She got goosebumps – just from his voice._

"_You look pretty good too Potter."_

_He chuckled, and led her over to a table when the song ended. They just sat there for a few minutes, watching others dance. James's thumb slowly traced over her ring, again and again._

_Before long they were dancing again. Lily had long since taken off her shoes and felt much more comfortable. She couldn't remember a time she had been this happy._

"_Lily, would you mind if I hex a few of these guys who won't stop staring at you?" James's voice said from above her. She giggled, positively giddy._

"_Well, I wouldn't _mind_, but I would _prefer_ if you didn't," she replied. "Because then you might get kicked out of the Ball and leave me here defenseless with all these guys."_

"_Good point."_

_She laughed, and they kept dancing, until Alice and Lynn came and dragged Lily away for a few minutes of gossip._

Wasn't the pain supposed to slowly fade away? Lily wondered two weeks after the Ball. That's what happened in the Muggle romance novels she had read – the characters eventually got over their heartache. But Lily felt like the pressure in her chest was only increasing every day, making it difficult for her to eat, sleep, or do anything except cry. She knew her friends were worried about her – she kept skipping meals.

Paying attention in class had become a challenge – she had every single class with him and she could feel him staring at her constantly. There were times that she just ran out of class afterwards crying, leaving her friends to pick up her stuff. They were understanding about it though. Alice was even nice enough not to remind her that they had always thought Lily and James were going to end up together. She didn't have to – the words echoed around Lily's head all on their own.

"Please, Professor Dumbledore," she pleaded, doing her best not to cry in front of the Headmaster. He shook his head gravely.

"I'm sorry Miss Evans. I know you and Mr Potter are having some personal troubles at the moment, but the Head Boy and Girl living together is part of the way they are supposed to work together. I hope you can understand why I cannot allow you to move back into Gryffindor Tower."

Morosely, Lily trudged out of his office and down the hall. The portrait that concealed the entrance to the Heads' rooms swung open, and James stepped out. They both froze. He opened his mouth to say something, his hazel eyes searching her emerald ones. She noticed that he was looking exhausted – there were deep purple shadows under his eyes – before brushing past him silently and practically sprinting to her room.

She thought if she cried anymore, she might dehydrate herself.

"_Lils, I really gotta go to the bathroom. I'll be right back, ok?" Lily nodded. He bent down to kiss her on the cheek, whispering in her ear, "And don't dance with anyone else while I'm gone." She laughed and watched him leave, marveling at how much she loved him._

"_Aww, look at little Lilykins, blushing like a little tomato," Sirius teased from next to her. She playfully shoved him in the shoulder before turning to watch the people out dancing._

_Several guys came and asked her to dance, thinking it might be safe now that James had temporarily vacated the area. She politely refused each of them._

One night, after tossing and turning for hours, Lily went out to the Common Room and re-lit the fire that had died. She just stared at it for awhile, unaware of how much time was passing.

James face, laughing and smiling, appeared in the fire. It was only a figment of her imagination, and so she tried her best to make it go away. His eyes kept taunting her, his voice repeating over and over in her head, "I love you Lily. I love you Lily. I love you Lily. I love you Lily…"

Before she even knew it, she had collapsed into sobs on the rug. It had been over a month since the ball, and the ache in her chest was showing no sign of lessening. Lily was so afraid that she would spend the rest of her life in pain because of what James Potter had done to her heart.

Lily cried herself to sleep on the rug, just wanting the pain to go away.

She woke up on the couch, a blanket draped over her body.

_Lily looked around. James had left nearly fifteen minutes ago to go to the bathroom and she was starting to worry. She wouldn't put it past some Slytherin to try to jump out and hex him. Lily sighed and bid farewell to their friends, hoping she could find James in time for the last dance of the evening._

_She walked slowly out of the hall, peering into some empty classrooms and down a few abandoned corridors. She didn't dare walk too far down them – some of the Slytherins, as well as half the girls in the school, would love nothing more than to curse her or shove her down the stairs._

_Lily sighed, frustrated and worried. Where was James?_

_She rounded another corner and froze. There was a ripping feeling in her chest, and it forced a small gasp out of her mouth._

_There was no mistaking that messy black hair. The messy black hair whose lips were currently attached to those of a blond girl._

_James pulled away from the girl, and Lily desperately wanted to run, but her legs couldn't seem to move. She just stood there petrified, and watched as James said something to the girl – she couldn't hear what._

_The blonde looked over James shoulder and locked eyes with Lily. James spun around and Lily watched as his face paled._

"_Lily."_

Lily spent as much time in the girls' dormitory in Gryffindor Tower as possible. Of course, this also meant running into the other Marauders, who constantly pleaded with her to just _talk_ to James, to listen to what he had to say.

"Lily he's _miserable_ without you!" Remus cried desperately as she walked away from them. She stopped walking and turned to look at him. He and Sirius and Peter were looking at her pleadingly.

"And we know you are suffering without him," Sirius added. Peter nodded emphatically.

Lily shook her head furiously, determined not to let them get to her. So what if James was miserable? So what if she had noticed that he barely ate either, or that the circles under his eyes were only getting darker? Her heart twinged at the thought of him in pain, but her brain reminded her that he had brought it on himself.

"He didn't cheat on you, Lily. He's never cheated on a girl before, and he never cared about anyone else he's dated anywhere near as much as he loves you."

"I…saw…him," she bit out the words. "_I saw him_."

"Lily, if we can prove to you that James didn't cheat on you, that he really loves you, would you at least _think_ about giving him another chance?"

Against her better judgment, Lily agreed, but tried not to get her hopes up. She knew what she had seen, and she wondered that evening if it wouldn't have just been better to ignore the Marauders.

"_Lily," he repeated. He took a step towards her, and she turned and ran._

_Lily didn't hear James's footsteps behind her, which only proved to her that she meant nothing to him. Running blindly, she stumbled over the hem of her dress in the Entrance Hall and fell onto her knees. Feeling utterly beaten and broken, she just sat there and sobbed – everyone else had already gone to bed, so no-one was there to comfort her – _

"_Lily."_

_She stood and backed away from him. His eyes seemed to be pleading with her, and so she forced herself not to look at them._

"_Get away from me."_

"_Please…" He was begging. Lily tried to block out his voice – otherwise she might listen, and if she listened, she might fall for whatever he was trying to pull._

"_No, damnit, I said get away from me."_

"_Lily, I didn't-"_

"_Didn't what? Stick your tongue down some blonde tramp's throat?" She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying her best not to cry in front of him._

"_I guess I should have seen this coming," she continued, looking up at him again. "I finally go out with you after all these years – I should have known it wasn't enough, that you would get bored. I can't believe I thought that maybe, _maybe_, you actually loved me."_

"_Lily-"_

"_Shut. Up. I don't ever want to speak to you again, Potter. Don't touch me, don't come near me, don't try to talk to me. Just – just stay away from me."_

_She started to walk away, but stopped before having left the Hall. Lily could feel James staring at her, praying she would turn around. She didn't – instead, she pulled the lily out of her hair and dropped it on the floor before continuing down the hall._

_While he was sleeping that night, she magicked the ring onto his pillow, trying her best to ignore his sleeping form._

Valentine's Day came, and Lily was utterly miserable. The other Marauders hadn't brought her any proof of his innocence, and she was facing a day watching everyone else with the people they loved, holding hands and kissing and hugging and talking and laughing and all the things she should be doing with James.

The girls insisted she come with them to Hogsmeade, rather than wallowing in her misery in her dorm. Alice even postponed her date with Frank so that she could stay with Lily for awhile. Frank, though disappointed, was understanding.

They went to The Three Broomsticks, and a butterbeer did help slightly…until James walked in, looking the slightest bit cheerful – clearly he was already getting over her.

"Can we go?" She asked, turning to Alice. Alice looked up at James and nodded.

After that, she sort of zoned out until she reached the Heads Dorms. She sat on her favorite window seat, watching the other students return from Hogsmeade, the sound of their laughter carrying up to the window.

James tried to approach her once he returned as well, but she ignored him and he went to open the window for the owl that was tapping. It flew over and dropped a note at her feet before soaring back out.

**Lily,**

**DO NOT LET JAMES SEE THIS!**

**We have your proof. Meet us in front of the Headmaster's office.**

**Remus & Sirius**

Lily's heart raced as she approached Professor Dumbledore's office. Remus and Sirius were standing there by the gargoyle, having what seemed to be an impassioned, whispered conversation.

They didn't say anything to her, just gestured for her to walk through the door and up through the stairs to Professor Dumbledore's office. The Professor was nowhere to be seen, but a deep basin covered in runes was resting on his desk. Lily recognized it as a Pensieve – she had read about them, and had always wanted to see one.

Wordlessly, Remus emptied a small vial of silvery substance into the bowl, and he and Sirius looked at her expectantly. Thankful that she knew what to do, she leaned forward and fell into the memories.

Looking around, she spotted James and the blonde a little ways away from her. The blonde was twirling a piece of hair around her finger. Feeling like she wanted to vomit, she scooted closer, hoping to hear what they were saying.

"…if maybe you would dance with me?"

"No thanks." Lily looked at James's face – she could see the impatience and a look bordering on disgust in his eyes. She could feel herself getting a little hopeful.

"Please? Pretty please?" Lily watched as James shook his head. "Well, then will you go to Hogsmeade with me sometime?" The disgust on James's face became evident.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I have a girlfriend. One that I love very much."

Lily could feel her heart swelling, but something kept nagging at her.

"Oh, you mean the little Mudblood-"

"Don't – you – dare. She is a million times the person you would ever be. Don't you _ever_ use that word about her! If you weren't a girl, I would have slammed your head into that stone wall over there and-"

And then the girl kissed him. Lily could tell now that it was more out of shock than anything that kept him from pushing her away immediately, and the weight that had been on her chest for nearly two months seemed to disappear completely. He _hadn't_ cheated on her.

Finally James shoved the girl away from him.

"Don't _ever_ touch me again."

Then he spun around and saw Lily standing there – and it was a little strange for Lily to see herself, but it gave her some perspective. Her memory-self looked so agonized and hurt, and turning to look at James, she could see the fear in his eyes, knowing what she was thinking.

He whispered her name, and the scene changed.

James was sitting with the other Marauders, none of whom were speaking. The other three were simply staring at him. He lifted his head and Lily was surprised to see his eyes were puffy and red.

"She thinks I cheated on her," he said brokenly. "I don't blame her, considering what she saw, but…she should _know_ how much I love her and how much I need her. What am I going to do?"

"Prongs, the only thing I can think of is to just let her try to get over it, let her calm down, and then try to talk to her, explain to her."

Surprisingly, these words came from Sirius.

"You know Lily. She won't ever forgive me. It took five years just to get her to be my friend. I don't have that long. After we graduate, she won't let me contact her. She can hold a grudge forever."

A tear slipped down his cheek. Lily smiled and wondered how she could have possibly doubted him.

The scene swirled again, and Lily felt herself being pulled back out of the Pensieve. Without saying anything, she walked past Remus and Sirius and out of the Headmaster's office. She didn't stop until she had reached her dorm room. Then, she lay down so she could think about everything.

It was obvious now that James hadn't cheated on her. He had told the girl to go away, not to touch him, and that he loved Lily. And the look on his face when he was talking to the other Marauders was absolutely heartbreaking. The only thing bothering Lily now was the fact that she hadn't believed him. She felt like a complete idiot, and she was worried about was the James's views on loyalty to his friends. He considered it almost the height of dishonor to not have full trust in your friends, and she could only imagine how he must be feeling about her, because she was – had been – his girlfriend. All Lily could do was pray he didn't completely hate her.

The next few weeks passed tensely for Lily. She was studying for her N.E.W.T.s and trying to figure out a way to approach James. Remus, Sirius, and Peter had all assured her that he wasn't mad, that he didn't hate her, but she couldn't help but worry.

Finally, she picked up her remaining Gryffindor courage and walked over to James's room, all the while experiencing a sense of déjà vu that at any other time she might have found funny.

Lily could tell he was awake as soon as she opened the door.

"James?"

"Lily, is everything okay?"

The fact that after everything they had been through recently he still wanted to make sure that she was alright overwhelmed her.

"No, everything is wrong, I ruined it all, damnit. I should have known you wouldn't cheat on me, that you weren't capable of doing that to me, I just saw you kissing her and it broke my heart and I couldn't think straight, and I'm so, so sorry that I didn't trust you, because I could have saved us both a lot of pain and I totally understand if you can't get past the fact that I was willing to believe the worst of you and if you hate me, I get that too, but I can't be without you anymore because I love you so damn much-" and then she collapsed into sobs.

James pulled her to him and she wrapped her arms around him as she cried into his chest. Her fear that he might not forgive her for not trusting him felt oppressive at the moment, although it lessened as he still held her and stroked her back.

"Lily, I honestly don't blame you for not trusting me when you saw that. Considering the type of guy I used to be, I'm surprised you didn't hex me on the spot. I'm not mad because you didn't trust me, and I most certainly do _not_ hate you. I couldn't possibly hate you – it would be like hating half of myself. I'm just glad that you finally realized it. What _did_ make you realize it, by the way?"

Lily explained to him about seeing his memories and then they just lay there together, each of them relieved to have the other. She was almost asleep when she had a thought.

"Where's my ring?" What if he threw it away?

He rolled off the bed and then came back, smiling as he slid the ring back on her finger.

Everything after that flew by between studying, and spending time with James and the other Marauders, and deciding what she wanted to do for sure once she left Hogwarts. James managed to drag her away from everything for a few hours to go to his final Quidditch game at Hogwarts.

It was a relatively quick game, but Lily was once again reminded of how much she disliked the sport when James was hit in the back by a Bludger and fell off his broom. She was barely aware of shoving past everyone in her rush to get to the field, only really paying attention to not tripping over her own feet as she sprinted across the field.

She slid onto her knees next to his head, picking it up and cradling it in her lap, pleading with him to wake up and stop scaring her. A few tears ran down her cheeks before she could stop them – what if he was seriously hurt? Lily could see the Headmaster and Madam Pomfrey running across the field towards them, but she wished they were moving faster. She looked back down and saw James slowly opening his eyes.

"Hey Evans, how's it going?"

_WHAT?_ Lily almost panicked – he hadn't called her Evans since fifth year.

"Why are you holding my head? I thought you hated me."

"James do you know what year you are?"

"Sure," he replied, looking almost confused and amused at the question, "Fifth year."

_No, no, no_, Lily couldn't help but think – if he thought he was in fifth year, then he didn't remember anything – them being friends, or dating, or anything else. Although, she reassured herself, Madam Pomfrey might be able to fix it somehow.

A laugh startled her.

"Relax, Lily – I'm kidding. I'm a seventh year, Head Boy, and you, my beautiful Lily-Flower, are Head Girl _and_ my girlfriend."

"James Potter!" she shrieked. "Don't _do _that! You really scared me there!"

In response, he pulled her head down and snogged her in the middle of the field. She could vaguely hear people in the crowd whistling and cat-calling, but she didn't really mind.

When they finally separated, James did the strangest thing. He said

"Marry me?"

She didn't even know what to say to that – he seemed to sense that, and so added "Just think about it."

And she thought about it – obsessively really. Lily didn't talk to anyone else about it, not even Alice (although she knew something was up), but she found herself thinking about it a lot. Going to sleep and waking up next to James every day made her think that this would be a wonderful way to live out the rest of her life. Every now and then she found herself subconsciously planning their wedding, and she knew a week after he had first asked her that if he proposed again, she would say yes, without a doubt.

The other thing that weighed the most on her mind was leaving Hogwarts. It was home to her, and she felt kind of lost at the thought of not coming back for another year. She didn't know where she was going to be living after this – she supposed she could get a flat somewhere (near James, of course) and start working. Lily just really didn't want to go back and live with her parents and Petunia again, although her mother's last letter said that Tuney was getting fairly serious with a guy named Vernon Dursley, and so she might not be there much longer.

The End of Term Feast arrived, and it was bittersweet. James kept squeezing her hand under the table, reminding her that he was there, and the other Marauders and her friends were doing their best to cheer her up. The Marauders' final prank helped. The fireworks were a genius idea, which, James whispered to her later, was all Remus's idea. And then…

**Lily Evans, will you marry me?**

Needless to say, _that_ particular firework was unexpected. Even the Marauders didn't seem to know he had made it.

And he was on his knee in front of her, with a beautiful emerald ring.

"Well?" He looked so hopeful, and almost pleading, as if he was begging her to not humiliate him in front of the entire school – everyone was staring now, even McGonagall and Dumbledore had stopped eating and were watching intently.

Lily realized that she was staring at James, and that he was getting more nervous, and she should probably answer.

"Yes."

James's face broke into the hugest smile she had ever seen before (which was saying something) as he slid the ring on her finger and picked her up, spun her around, and kissed her.

As he yelled for the entire school to hear that she and James were engaged – _engaged!_ – Lily couldn't help but think that her twelve year old self couldn't have been more wrong – she _was_ going to end up married to James Potter.

There would be no living with Alice after this.

* * *

**The end! Well, there's the epilogue, and I'm going to do that different than I did the epilogue for _Seven Years With Lily_, so it won't be depressing.  
As always, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Remember, you review one of my stories, I review one of yours, and everyone loves getting reviews!**


	9. Epilogue: Vows

**Eek! The epilogue! Just a quick note - this is all dialogue, it's Lily and James's wedding vows. See you at the bottom!**

* * *

**"I hated you so much in school. You drove me absolutely nuts. All you did was follow me around and ask me out and hex my best friend. You thought you were the greatest person in the world. At the time, you were anything but. But now, you're the greatest person in my world."**

"_I've been in love with you since I was fourteen. Before that I had the world's biggest crush on you. I never heard the end of it from any of my friends, but I was determined to get you to be mine at some point, if for no other reason than to prove that I was more stubborn than you. And then before I knew it, I wanted you to be mine just because of who you are."_

"I remember thinking 'what is so wrong with this guy that he doesn't give up, or understand what the phrase 'No way in hell' means?' But now I think that if you had given up, my life would be so much worse off. I would be with some guy who doesn't treat me as amazing as you do. You tell me every day that I'm beautiful and that you love me and that we belong together. I didn't believe you in school, but now I know you speak nothing but the truth."

"_When you dated other people, you absolutely broke my heart. I tried to tell myself it was only a matter of time before you realized that you and I were meant to be together, that eventually I would be the one to get to hold you. But every day that seemed like less and less of a possibility, and there were times I was really afraid that I was going to have to move on with my life and try to find someone else. But then you came to your senses."_

"I almost wish I had realized that you and I are meant for each other sooner, but at the same time I wouldn't trade anything that happened between us, except maybe the whole time when I thought you had cheated on me. That pain I could have lived without. But everything else brought us here, exactly like we are supposed to be. That's all I could ask for."

"_I really don't know how I got this lucky. You could have chosen any guy, but it's me who gets to hold you and kiss you, wake up next to you every morning and have a life with you. I'll never understand why you chose me, but I'm going to spend the rest of my life attempting to make you as happy as you have made me for these last two years. You have made every dream I've had since the age of twelve come true, and I don't even know how to tell you how much I love you for that."_

"**Do you, Lily Evans, take James Potter to be your husband, to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"**

"I do."

"**Do you, James Potter, take Lily Evans to be your wife, to have and to hold, to honor and cherish, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"**

"_I do."_

"**I now pronounce you husband and wife, Mr and Mrs James Potter. You may kiss the bride."**

…

"_**You shouldn't have said that. They'll never stop now. Oi! Lovebirds! Get a room!"**_

**That's it! The end! I want to thank everyone who has read both _Seven Years With Lily _and _Seven Years With James_. Special thanks to my reviewers for this story - _SkylarCraze, Kaiaa, jessicats, Bill Denbrough, darris108, shroomy-eyes, XGIRLX, and Kamakana1995_. Thank y'all so much, you made me want to keep writing this story! Go check out my other stories, and as always REVIEW! I will have new stories in a few months - for info on that go to my profile, and while you're there, vote in my poll! Again, REVIEW_ REVIEW REVIEW!_**


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